McAfee Wireless Home Network Security

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Richard Poelling
Kurtis
McAfee
Nov. 2, 2005

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Licensing and Availability

As was mentioned before, this product ships with 5-client access licenses. This should be more than enough for the average home user who may have a couple of computers or a laptop running around. This also gives you enough coverage if you have friends come over or other machines join the network. The product itself sells for $49.99 which includes product updates for a period of 1 year. After that, additional 1 year terms can be purchased for $9.99/year. This product will also be bundled with McAfee's other software offerings for a total coverage package. I was also informed that McAfee has plans to launch a subscription based product in the first quarter of next year.

Conclusion

Network security may be a foreign word to many people, and those who don't know about it may choose to ignore it. Unfortunately, with the reality of our modern technological world, we don't have the luxury of running unprotected systems without the worry of intrusion. It is for that reason that products such as McAfee's Wireless Home Networking package are developed. You no longer need an engineering degree or have to hire the kid down the street to set up a good, SECURE, wireless network. I think this type of product is a great idea and long overdue. Using the full capacity of the key length and rotating that key every 3 hours, McAfee has generated some of the most secure setups for a home wireless network. Sure, you will never be able to remember that WPA key, but with this software, you don't have to.

For all the positives that this software brings to the table, there is one major drawback present: compatibility. This product still has a long way to go in terms of hardware compatibility, but if you get a router that is compatible, the software works great. You will need to be mindful of firmware upgrades, but then again, the average user who doesn't secure their network probably doesn't upgrade the firmware on their router either, although a firmware update will most likely be required out of the box anyway, so there is a bit of a catch-22 here. The target audience for this product is the average home user, someone who wants to buy a product, bring it home, turn it on, and then use it. (Kurtis' Note: Ah, yes. Set it and forget it.) Unfortunately, this is why you can drive around so many neighborhoods today and pick up wireless AP's that broadcast "linksys".

The direction of this product is taking is great, not only for ease of securing the network, but also by removing the many open wireless networks. It is unfortunate that its current implementation is sorely lacking in compatibility. I do have hope that the WiFi Alliance will settle on a control protocol such that this limitation can be removed. If you have a compatible router AND firmware, this product will secure your network with a top-notch level of security. If you can get past the compatibility issues and you have only a few computers to secure, then you might want to take a look at McAfee's Wireless Home Network Security product. On the other hand, if you have incompatible routers or devices other than computers to connect, you are probably better served by just using what comes built into every router anyway for free.

Pros

Sweet, sweet security
Maximum key strength
Rotation of keys
Easy to use interface

Cons

Limited Hardware compatibility
Other wireless devices get left behind
Unable to only install Wireless software

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Page 4 of 4

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Page 1: Introduction / First Looks
Page 2: Installation / User Interface
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Licensing and Availability / Conclusion

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